NCJ Number
15531
Journal
American Sociological Review Volume: 39 Issue: 6 Dated: (DECEMBER 1974) Pages: 865-876
Date Published
1974
Length
12 pages
Annotation
CASE STUDY OF THE BEHAVIORAL PROCESS OF RIOTING USING DATA ON MORE THAN 1850 INSTANCES OF RIOT ACTION DURING THE LOS ANGELES WATTS RIOT OF AUGUST 1965.
Abstract
TEAM REPORTING WAS USED TO CATEGORIZE, QUANTIFY, AND ANALYZE THE BEHAVIORAL DYNAMICS OF 'THE CROWD'. THE RIOT WAS CONCEPTUALIZED AS A FINITE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS, EVENTS OR BEHAVIORS TRANSPIRING BETWEEN AN INITIATOR AND A TARGET AT SOME COMMON POINT IN TIME AND SPACE. DATA WAS COLLECTED FOR FIVE SPECIFIC CROWD BEHAVIORS - FIRES, FALSE ALARMS, LOOTINGS, ROCK-THROWING, AND CROWD GATHERINGS. IT WAS FOUND THAT CENSUS TRACTS WITH HIGH RATES OF ONE CROWD ACTION TYPE WERE NOT NECESSARILY HIGH INCIDENCE TRACTS IN OTHER CATEGORIES. THERE WERE RELATIVELY FEW CENSUS TRACTS IN WHICH NO CROWD ACTIVITY OF ANY KIND OCCURRED, INDICATING THAT THE RIOT WAS NEITHER LOCALIZED NOR INVOLVED HOMOGENEOUS TRACTS. THE SPATIAL SPREAD OF THE RIOT WAS ALSO SHOWN TO FOLLOW A RANDOM, NOT LINEAR, PATTERN. MOST (62 PER CENT) OF ALL RIOT ACTIVITY OCCURRED BETWEEN EIGHT O'CLOCK PM AND FOUR O'CLOCK AM. FIRE AND LOOTING EVENTS WERE ANALYZED TOGETHER ACCORDING TO THE DAY ON WHICH EVENTS OCCURRED AND THE NATURE OF CENSUS TRACT INVOLVEMENT. RESULTS SHOWED THAT, CONTRARY TO POPULAR THEORY, THESE TWO CROWD ACTION TYPES HAVE QUITE DIFFERENT TIME-SPACE SPREAD PROFILES. RESEARCHERS CONCLUDED THAT EXISTING RIOT TYPOLOGIES AND THEORIES (SUCH AS 'HERD INSTINCT') NEED TO BE REEXAMINED. THEY SUGGEST THAT COLLECTIVE VIOLENCE BE APPROACHED AS A MUCH MORE COMPLEX AND DIVERSE BEHAVIORAL PROCESS.